Nacre, or mother-of-pearl, is a kind of composites of aragonite platelets sandwiched between organic materials. Its excellent mechanical properties are thought to stem from the micro architecture that is traditionally...Nacre, or mother-of-pearl, is a kind of composites of aragonite platelets sandwiched between organic materials. Its excellent mechanical properties are thought to stem from the micro architecture that is traditionally described as a 'brick and mortar' arrangement. In this paper, a new microstructure, referred to as mineral bridge in the biomineralization, is directly observed in the organic matrix layers (mortar) of nacre. This is an indication that the organic matrix layer of nacre should be treated as a three-dimensional interface and the micro architecture of nacre ought to be considered as a 'brick-bridge-mortar' structure rather than the traditional one. Experiments and analyses show that the mineral bridges not only improve the mechanical properties of the organic matrix layers but also play an important role in the pattern of the crack extension in nacre.展开更多
Based on the transmission electron micrographs of nacre, the existence of mineral bridges in the organic matrix interface is confirmed. It is proposed that the microarchitecture of nacre should be considered as a “br...Based on the transmission electron micrographs of nacre, the existence of mineral bridges in the organic matrix interface is confirmed. It is proposed that the microarchitecture of nacre should be considered as a “brick-bridge-mortar” (BBM) arrangement rather than traditional “brick and mortar” (BM) one. Experiments and analyses indicate that the mineral bridges effectively affect the strength and toughness of the interfaces in nacre. Comparison with a laminated composite with BM structure, SiC/BN, shows that the pattern of the crack extension and the toughening mechanism of the two materials are different. This reveals that the mineral bridges play a key role in the toughening mechanisms of nacre, which gives a conceptual guidance in material synthesis.展开更多
基金The project supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Chinese Academy of Sciences (KJ951-1-201) the National Natural Science Foundation of China (19891180 and 10072067)
文摘Nacre, or mother-of-pearl, is a kind of composites of aragonite platelets sandwiched between organic materials. Its excellent mechanical properties are thought to stem from the micro architecture that is traditionally described as a 'brick and mortar' arrangement. In this paper, a new microstructure, referred to as mineral bridge in the biomineralization, is directly observed in the organic matrix layers (mortar) of nacre. This is an indication that the organic matrix layer of nacre should be treated as a three-dimensional interface and the micro architecture of nacre ought to be considered as a 'brick-bridge-mortar' structure rather than the traditional one. Experiments and analyses show that the mineral bridges not only improve the mechanical properties of the organic matrix layers but also play an important role in the pattern of the crack extension in nacre.
基金the National Natural Science Foundations of China (Grant Nos. 19891180 and 10072067) and the Natural Science Foundation of Chinese Academy of Sciences (KJ951-1-201) .
文摘Based on the transmission electron micrographs of nacre, the existence of mineral bridges in the organic matrix interface is confirmed. It is proposed that the microarchitecture of nacre should be considered as a “brick-bridge-mortar” (BBM) arrangement rather than traditional “brick and mortar” (BM) one. Experiments and analyses indicate that the mineral bridges effectively affect the strength and toughness of the interfaces in nacre. Comparison with a laminated composite with BM structure, SiC/BN, shows that the pattern of the crack extension and the toughening mechanism of the two materials are different. This reveals that the mineral bridges play a key role in the toughening mechanisms of nacre, which gives a conceptual guidance in material synthesis.
